The Mercury asked the Liberals’ HQ when the party planned to hold its Illawarra preselections and whether it would contest each of the region’s five state seats: Heathcote, Keira, Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama.

“The Liberal Party’s current focus is on fielding strong teams of Liberal candidates for the Wollongong and Shellharbour local government elections,” a party spokesman said.

“Decisions regarding the state election, due in 2019, will follow in due course.”